Stairwells
by Dalliann
Summary: A 'missing scene' from Episode 43. What happened after the awkward kiss between Mao and Kai? Light Mao/Okamura, 'cause they deserved more screen-time!


I've been working on this one-shot for over a year now. Originally, I wanted to do a very short drabbly piece, just a few paragraphs, but it turned into this. I'm still not entirely happy with it but if I spend any more time tweaking it, I'll probably ruin anything good in it. So here 'tis.

Note: This is intended as a 'missing scene' from Episode Forty-Three. The kiss made for sort of an awkward situation and I always wished they would have resolved Kai's and Mao's relationship (or breakup, I guess) with a little more clarity. Then again, this _is_ an anime; vagueness and speculation seem to be the foundations of the artform…

Blood Plus - ©Production I.G. / Aniplex

Story - ©Destiny 'Dalliann' Lauritsen – (2009)

**Stairwells**

"_**Pain is **__**inevitable**__**. Suffering is optional.**__**" –Dalai Lama**_

It was Kai's honesty she'd first been drawn to and it was still the trait she liked best about him. He was different from the men she knew-- the 'connected' men of the Jahana empire, who had perfected the shifting language of false flatteries, evasiveness, and double-talk (a language she was equally fluent in).

True, Kai's blunt style of speech had initially been confusing. And frustrating. And sometimes a little insulting…

But it had also been _refreshing_.

He was casual and frank, expressing his thoughts and beliefs more clearly than she'd ever known a boy to be capable. Yes, his compliments were infrequent, but it was the infrequency itself that made them so special. If Kai mentioned that her hair looked nice today, or laughed at her corniest jokes, or congratulated her score on a particularly difficult math test, or even admitted that her cooking skills were _slowly_ improving… he meant it. Kai didn't say _anything_ unless he meant it.

Ironically, that was how she'd finally known it was over.

She'd kissed him. And he hadn't kissed her back. Apparently, Kai didn't _do_ anything he didn't mean, either. So Mao pulled back (seeing the apology in his eyes, sensing that he was about to tell her something heavy and truthful and unavoidable) and forced a smile. She offered a final flirtatious comment, something silly, and fled the room.

*****

The apartment building's dark stairwell seemed an ideal place to mope and, for almost an hour, it was utilized fully. Then Okamura came tripping up the stairs with his arms full of groceries and nearly stepped on her.

"Could you _possibly_ take up any more space?" he groused. She pulled her knees up to her chest, squeezing against the railing as he walked around her. The bags were wrestled through the door but before it even had a chance to swing shut behind him, he was back on the landing, stooping down on the stair-step above her.

She couldn't hide her surprise.

Only a few hours ago she'd scolded him for his reckless behavior at Diva's American debut ("One good photo isn't worth our lives, you jerk!") and he'd responded with a rude gesture, unlit cigarette dangling rebelliously from his mouth as he stomped out the door. She really hadn't expected mutual civility to return until sometime tomorrow. In fact, she hadn't even expected _him_ to return until tomorrow.

Okamura, however, seemed low-key as she'd ever seen him. "You're unusually quiet. What's up?" he asked, leaning back on his elbows. She ignored the question so he nudged her ribs with his knee. "Broke a nail? Lost your favorite pair of shoes? Gained a pound?"

She threw a caustic glare over her shoulder-- which he accepted, smirking-- and suddenly she was biting back a temper tantrum. _Hello, I'm grieving here!_

"It's none of your business. Go away," she said and turned from him, tucking her chin into her knees.

A deep sigh. The one he seemed to reserve just for her. Only to be used when she was being especially petulant. Always edged with impatience and just a little disgust. He'd been using it a lot, lately, she realized.

"It's that kid again, isn't it?"

"His name is Kai, not 'that kid.' And I already told you, it's none of your business."

"Really? So, you _weren't _hoping for a little attention, sprawling yourself so dramatically across the landing?"

"Shut up."

"I don't know why you get so worked up over him." His clothes rustled as he sat up. "He's obviously got a screw loose."

Mao's head whipped towards him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Okamura shrugged and pulled a rumpled pack of cigarettes from his vest. "Well, he's infatuated with a girl who drinks blood, kills monsters, and just so happens to be his little sister. I'd call that messed up on a whole new level." He tapped out one of the cigarettes, which Mao pointedly ignored. "Vampire chick or yakuza heiress? Seems like an easy choice to me."

Mao leaned her head against the stair-rail. "I thought so, too, but apparently Kai's stupid… Not that you'd choose any differently, given the chance." She couldn't help the way her bottom lip suddenly pursed-- _so childish!--_ and only hoped that the reporter hadn't seen it.

Okamura snorted loudly and his knee bumped against her arm. "No way, _I'm_ smart. I'd steer clear of you both. That kid-- I mean, _Kai_-- is obviously a masochist."

Mao pushed his leg away and Okamura issued another long sigh. "You know, you're ten times more annoying than usual when you sulk," he observed.

"Well, _you're_ completely clueless when it comes to comforting girls!"

"I'm not here to comfort anyone." The cigarette dropped from his fingers and he bent forward to catch it before it rolled off the stoop. "I just thought I might be able to convince you to move your pity party to a more convenient location. You're kind of a fire-hazard, lying out in the hall like this." He placed the cigarette in the corner of his mouth and tossed his head back toward the door. "If you want comfort, sweetheart, there's a tin of cookies in the kitchen. Don't girls usually stuff their faces when they're being ridiculously emotional?"

_That does it._

Mao was instantly on her feet, hands clenched, towering over the journalist. "For your information, Kai and I just broke up and _cookies_ are not going to fix anything! So I think I'm allowed to be a little depressed without you being a total jerk about it!" She raised an admonishing finger, the most threatening kind, and shook it in his face. "And take that disgusting thing out of your mouth right now!"

Okamura's brow arched skeptically and he frowned around the cigarette. "_Just_ broke up? When your boyfriend leaves the country without any sort of farewell or explanation, _that_ is the breakup, Mao. And he's done it twice, now!"

Her mouth opened, ready to fire back a retort, but the truth in his observation was sharp. _He's actually done it __**three**__ times_, a cruel part of her brain reminded her.

She'd had enough, today. Enough from Kai and Okamura and any one else who felt like shedding light on truths she'd rather not hear. Enough _blunt_. And _frank_. And _honest_. And she'd _really_ had enough of that lofty, knowing expression Okamura was suddenly wearing. Without a word, she yanked the cigarette from his lips and bolted passed him for the door but he twisted around and caught her wrist, unintentionally grinding the beads of her bracelet into her skin.

"Let go!" she yelled.

"Mao…"

"I mean it! Let go!"

"You're such a brat," Okamura sighed, voice relaxed but eyes focused. "Come here and sit down." He tugged on her arm, a gentle suggestion, but now she was angry. She pulled her wrist from his grasp in one quick motion- and immediately wished she hadn't when she recognized the distinct snapping of cord (and then the bouncing clatter of a hundred small beads hitting the floor).

Okamura was the first to react, looking tired as beads skittered around him. "I suppose you're going to blame this on me?"

It had been a long, troubling day and this final event broke the last of her resolve. Mao's eyes filled with tears as she sagged to the floor and tried to gather the remains of her bracelet. "I really liked this one," she sniffed.

Okamura dragged himself to his knees, swearing. "Seriously, tears?" he growled. She sniffled again but made no further comment.

He worked beside her, pushing a few strays into her pile, and ambled down the stairs and back up to catch the roll-aways. "Unbelievable, all this fuss over a little plastic and string! Looks easy enough to put back together. Even _easier_ to just buy you a new one."

Mao fixed him with an incredulous stare, eyes red and glistening. "But… this one's special."

Okamura inspected a bead between his fingers. "Bet I could find one just like it for five bucks."

"But _Kai_ gave me this one!" she cried, her sniffles suddenly full-fledged sobs. "It was the last present he gave me… before his dad adopted Saya… and then… everything chaaanged!" She cried loudly into her hands, shoulders shaking.

When thirty seconds had passed and Okamura still hadn't budged from his place on the steps to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder, Mao risked a blurry glance at him through her fingers. He looked completely lost. She sighed and dropped her hands from her face, tears still clinging to her cheeks. "You're so bad at this!" she yelled. "Can't you even _try_ to cheer me up?"

"No. He was a lousy boyfriend and you're better off without him. I don't understand why you're crying in the first place so how am I supposed to make you _stop_?"

"Kai used to hug me…"

"No."

"I wasn't asking!"

"Well, don't."

"You're _not_ making me feel any better."

"Is Lewis back, yet? He'd probably hug you…"

"Now you're making me feel even _worse_!"

"So... do you want some cookies _now_?"

"For the last time, I don't want the stupid cookies!"

Okamura pinched the bridge of his nose and rocked backward onto his heels, frustration apparent. He regarded her quietly (she hoped her eyes weren't as red and puffy as they felt) and, after a few moments of seemingly deep study, sighed _that_ sigh. "Fine," he began, motioning to his face, "take a swing."

Mao donned her most incredulous expression. "Why would I do that?"

"Because hitting me always seems to mellow you out. You're a little psychotic that way…"

"Shut up!" Her hand, seemingly of its own accord, shot out and clipped his shoulder. He winced just a little at the blow but a smile was quick to follow, smug as always.

"Wow. Violent _and_ unpredictable. What a combination!" he teased. "How'd that kid ever let you go?"

"Don't make me do it, again."

"Admit it, you feel better." Still balanced low on his feet, Okamura leaned back against the railing and crossed his arms behind his head. "No need to thank me," he said, grinning.

"I wasn't going to," Mao replied, smoothing her hair back from her face. "You still owe me a new bracelet."

He sighed. "Kind of figured that."

"And I want a nice one." She scrubbed away the last of the tears with her sleeve. "Something sparkly."

"Sure. The very best plastic money can buy…"

Mao shot him an irritated look but it dissolved into mild amusement a moment later. He was smiling, crooked but sincere, and she felt the corners of her mouth turning up to match.

He nodded at the cluster of beads gathered before her. "Make sure to get all of those. Don't want to step on one tomorrow and take a dive down to the lobby."

Mao began scooping them into her sweatshirt pockets but paused for a moment as an enticing thought occurred to her. "Maybe I'll leave a few in front of Kai's door tonight…"

"And she's back! Progressing from heartache to diabolic vengeance, right on schedule. Now that's the Mao I know…"

"I can't tell if you're being sarcastic..."

"I can't either. So, tirade's over, right? Good. Let's go inside." Okamura stood and offered her a hand but she declined.

"I'm going to stay out here for a few more minutes."

"Mao-"

"I'm fine. I'll be in soon."

Okamura gave her one last glance, looking unconvinced or mildly concerned-- she couldn't quite tell-- before turning for the door. Just as he crossed the threshold, Mao voiced one more question.

"Akihiro?"

He turned back in surprise. She rarely used his given name. "Yeah?"

"… what _kind_ of cookies?"

-End.-


End file.
